Saturday’s game will be #1 Ohio State’s (19-0, 6-0) biggest test of the season as the Buckeyes will face #23 Illinois (14-5, 4-2) at Assembly Hall in Champaign. The Buckeyes flexed its muscles on Wednesday by embracing the top spot with a 70-48 victory over Iowa on Wednesday, while the Fighting Illini won a critical game Tuesday at home by ending their two-game losing streak against #17 Michigan State (Why are they still ranked?) 71-62.
Ohio State can put themselves in the driver’s seat this week if they defeat Illinois on Saturday and defeat #14 Purdue (16-3, 5-1) on Tuesday. Those two victories could give the Buckeyes a two-game cushion with half of the conference season remaining. However, the game at Illinois will not be easy as Illinois is undefeated (9-0) at home. The Illini welcomed the return of freshman Jereme Richmond, who missed the game in which Illinois lost at Wisconsin last Saturday due to personal issues. Richmond responded by scoring 14 points off of the bench to complement the 20 points scored by guard Brandon Paul off of the bench as well.
Illinois’ depth is the one thing that the team needs to capitalize upon because Ohio State usually only plays seven in coach Thad Matta’s short rotation. Three of the seven are also freshman: Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft, and Deshaun Thomas. The crowd at Assembly Hall, the ‘Orange Crush,’ must make life uncomfortable for these freshman as the Buckeyes almost lost on the road to a mediocre team at Michigan last week. Also, Illinois must look to get Ohio State into foul trouble to further exploit the depth.
Ohio State’s big advantage for this game will be on the low block with power forward Sullinger and center Dallas Lauderdale. Sullinger leads the team in points and rebounds (17.4 ppg, 9.8 rpg). Lauderdale has made two out of every three shots that he takes because defenses focus solely on Sullinger in the post. Also, Illinois has one of the skinniest teams ever compiled in the Big Ten. Hit the weight room.
Who will budge in this game? Will it be Ohio State finally succumbing to the pressure of being #1? Which Illini team will show up, the team that just beat Michigan State or the team that lost to Penn State last week? These questions will be answered on Saturday in what will be a close matchup. I think that Ohio State will win because they will control the painted area at both ends of the court.
